


Magnus Chase and the Trials of Human Contact

by Kimyomo



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: But he's getting better!, He loves his friends, Magnus can't deal with touch, Thats cannon fools, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 17:52:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18057239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimyomo/pseuds/Kimyomo
Summary: Magnus is.... slightly touch starved. He just didn't like touch, sue him. But as the years went by and he eventually died (and, oh boy, wasn't that something) he got more and more tolerant to touch without even noticing.And then he did.





	Magnus Chase and the Trials of Human Contact

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Myself as in this was for me](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Myself+as+in+this+was+for+me).



> So I really like the Magnus Chase series, and I'd like to read fanfics that DON'T revolve around Magnus's love life. Except I couldn't find any. So gather 'round, losers, and buckle up cause I'm going to do my best to put non-romantical fics into the world.

   Magnus Chase was 14 years old and had never once in his life enjoyed physical contact from anyone except for his mother, Natalie Chase. He'd never met a  _more_ not touchy person than himself. So what if most physical contact just made him uncomfortable! It's not like he was missing anything.

Others seemed inclined to disagree, but what did they know?

The only person he was fine with touching was his mother, and that didn't give much hope to whoever else happened to be in his life. Everyone knew that Magnus's mother meant the world to him. So when he ran from his apartment after the explosion, a fleeting thought couldn't help but cross his mind.

_He'd never get to touch someone without squirming ever again._

He was fine with that. It only meant that no one would ever get close enough for him to mourn them when he inevitably lost them.

* * *

   He was 15, running on 16, and after his mother (he professionally ignored any and all thoughts that came along with that simple, simple word) died, Magnus came to loathe,to _detest_ touch even more than he did before. Touch was something special, something that should only be shared with the people closest to you.

People like his late mo— _her._

But ever since Blitz and Hearth, his odd, unofficial hobo parents, came into his life, he grew to be as happy as someone in, er... _his situation_ could be. As he opened up to them, he found that letting them have skin-to-skin contact with him was... welcomed? No, not exactly welcomed, but.... he didn't hate it either. Plus it seemed to make them happy whenever he didn't flinch away from them. Maybe they thought he was touch starved. 

Maybe they  _cared._

That.... that was a scary thought. He wasn't used to people  _caring_ ever since his moth—  _she_ died.

What did Magnus really want?

To make these strange, strange people who really  _cared_ happy. But how did he do that? He didn't have anything to give... so what did he have that could make them happy?

He suddenly gasped, eyes wide, under the bridge where he was planning to sleep for the night.  _Of course!_ It was so  _obvious!_ They were happy when he reacted positively to touch! But he couldn't help his reactions sometimes... hm. Well, he'd just have to suck it up! Blitz and Hearth's happiness was well worth  _any_ discomfort. In this situation, his ideals and opinions didn't matter. If the majority of the world could touch each other comfortably, then so could he.

It was the least he could do.

* * *

   He was dead. He was dead and in a  _hotel_ of all things. With other people who were also dead. And had no concept of personal space.

Well that was just  _awesome._

He only hoped that they would make an exception for him. He  _was_ the new guy, maybe they'd be more cautious around him?

As he watched a petite redhead with an undoubtedly Irish accent somehow get up in a  _very_ tall.... person's.... face to berate him, he somehow doubted it.

To him, touch was something intimate, only to be shared with the closest of friends and family.

That was not these people.

Perhaps they would get the hint if he kept shying away or flinching back when they made contact? 

As childish as it may be, he just wanted his mother, even if he couldn't think of her without breaking down. Maybe even Blitz and Hearth.... he only wanted someone  _familiar._

* * *

   Magnus Chase had been dead for a while. With the help of his friends (and, oh man, was having friends amazing or what?), he had bound Fenrir, retrieved Thor's hammer, and had even defeated Loki in a flyting a month or two ago.

(Of course, if you asked him about it, he'd downplay it so it seemed like he hadn't done anything. It was better to ask anyone else on floor 19. At least they were capable of receiving acknowledgement for their actions. Well, the good ones at least.)

Everyone on his hall (and some outside of it) knew about his aversion to touch— save for with Blitz and Hearth— but they also knew that Magnus would do nearly everything for anyone he considered a dear friend. 

They also knew, thanks to their friendly neighborhood dwarf and elf, that him allowing touch was a sign of absolute trust.  _Well, that's fine,_ they thought, _they'd just have to earn it._  And after the flyting, where Magnus essentially defeated a _god_ by gushing about his closest friends, they knew that they were almost there.

Every one of them knew that to Magnus, touch was something special. Something _important_ that wasn't meant to be shared with people who didn't mean anything to you. 

The einherjar or floor 19 knew that they were almost at the level of touching-without-the-purpose-of-healing. They'd just have to earn it, and _mark their words,_  they would.

* * *

   A year later, Magnus surprised his hall mates and himself when he didn't flinch away from his friends' touches. The rest of floor 19 was delighted, not that they let Magnus know how much it meant to them.

Physical contact was meant for family, and hall 19 was family. 

**Author's Note:**

> That's a wrap! Please tell me if you see grammatical errors or anything that can be improved!


End file.
